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The wooden train had left a deep, purple bruise right across Ruby’s collarbone, a dull throb that beat in time with her racing pulse. In the heavy stillness of the Romano foyer, every armed guard held his breath. Vincent Romano’s hand still hovered an inch from where he had caught her, his dark eyes locked onto her face with a mixture of disbelief and clinical assessment. / Chapter 7 / 8

Chapter 7 - The Royal Wedding in Blood and Diamonds

The wedding of Vincent Romano and Ruby Miller was the most explosive event Chicago had seen in half a century.

Held inside the gothic splendor of St. Jude’s Cathedral—surrounded by heavily armed security guards disguised as groomsmen and rival syndicate bosses forced to sit in the back rows under armed guard—the ceremony was a display of absolute power and unapologetic love.

Ruby wore a custom-designed, off-the-shoulder ivory gown that hugged her plus-size curves with breathtaking elegance, her head held high, the massive diamond ring sparkling fiercely on her finger. Down the aisle, toddling unsteadily with a velvet pillow carrying their rings, was Leo, dressed in a miniature tuxedo, laughing as he tossed rose petals at his new mother's feet.

As Vincent slid the matching platinum band onto Ruby’s finger before the altar, the entire cathedral held its collective breath.

"You look like a queen," Vincent whispered against her lips as he lifted her veil for their first kiss as husband and wife.

"A queen who still needs to pay her father's medical bills, Mr. Romano," Ruby teased softly through a tearful smile.

"Your father's hospital debt was paid off the moment you walked into my foyer, my love," Vincent murmured with a dark, wicked grin. "Now... let's go greet our guests."

The reception at the Romano estate was a glittering affair of champagne, caviar, and palpable tension. Rival bosses who had tried to kill Vincent just weeks prior were now forced to stand in line to kiss the bride's hand and offer polite, terrified congratulations.

As the orchestra played a slow waltz, Vincent pulled Ruby close onto the marble dance floor, spinning her effortlessly beneath the crystal chandeliers.

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My hand froze inches from the cold steel of the Sig Sauer P226. Beneath the amber glow of the bedside lamp, the source of the warmth against my side wasn't an assassin, an operative from a rival syndicate, or a traitorous lieutenant.

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The silence in the master bedroom stretched so tight I could hear the slow, heavy drip of my own pulse in my ears. Dominic Rossi’s dark eyes locked onto mine, burning with a feverish intensity that should have sent me running back down the hallway and out into the rain

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"They're all watching us," Ruby whispered, glancing at the whispering crowds huddled near the bar.

"Let them watch," Vincent replied, tightening his grip around her waist and pulling her flush against his chest. "Let them see that the most dangerous man in Chicago belongs entirely to the woman who tamed his son."

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